Category Archives: Running

The sun was shining. It was a warm day. I spotted a line of firemen with water hoses and figured that’s good way to cool down. So rather than pass at a distance like the hundreds of people before me I decided to go a little closer and really cool down. Fast forward five minutes and I’m happy to report that I’m refreshed but for some reason my music is no longer playing. I check my phone. The formerly dry phone strapped to my arm is soaking wet and no longer working. In hindsight getting a little too close to a fireman’s hose is not the wisest thing to do (well while running anyway). Continue reading →

The winter months are the hardest to get yourself motivated when it comes to running. The thought of battling against inclement weather while participating in a challenging run can be a daunting prospect. The choice between the couch and a roaring fire versus tackling the harsh weather outside is a tough one (for some, me included). Continue reading →

Like this:

Run Rewards Irelandis a ‘virtual running club’ and brought to you by Keith and Stephen, two guys from Dublin and Sligo. They have a passion for running, the finishers medal, spreading the word about the joys of running and encouraging others to get active at a time and place that fits their lifestyle. Continue reading →

The Clontarf Half Marathon takes place in both July and November each year. It’s billed as the flattest half marathon course in the country. I can confirm its very flat ! This was actually my third time signing up for it; the other two I didn’t manage to make in the end. Saturday July 4th was finally going to be my time to shine. Continue reading →

I was beyond unimpressed with my performance in the Belfast Marathon and had planned to do so much better in the Cork one. There was only a month between the two, which in hindsight was probably a little too short to rest, then ramp up and then taper off again. My motivation probably took a bit a knock too and my training went out the window in favour of a focus on food and drink instead.

Myself and my running buddy Mincer are not quitters (well maybe a little) so we hopped on the train and headed to Cork as scheduled the day before the marathon. Discussing it at length on the train we decided it might be a smart running move to see if we could swap to the half marathon instead. We didn’t want to risk a stupid injury and we didn’t want to not run either, so this seemed like a sensible compromise.

Switching from the full to the half is not as easy as you would think, bibs are pre printed, numbers allocated etc, but the wonderful staff agreed to let us swap, keep our original bibs (yellow for full and blue for half) and swap our details in the background.

Dark Skies Above

The weather on the morning was absolutely horrendous. Full on torrential rain. The saving grace was it wasn’t cold and despite the rain it was very enjoyable weather to run in.

On Route to Start Line

We gathered at the start line with everyone else and set off. Prior to starting we had agreed we would start together and finish together so there wasn’t really much focus on achieving a good time. It was more about remotivating ourselves and getting back into the swing of things.

Despite the weather the people of Cork came out in large numbers to cheer everyone on, which was quite impressive. The course was well laid out, no massive hills like Belfast and their was ample water stations. It was a pleasure to run, finished right in the city centre and I would recommend it to anyone.

On the last mile we spotted a fellow runner being taken away in a stretcher and thought how incredibly heartbreaking that must be for any runner who is unable to finish so close to the end. We crossed the line picked up our medals and headed back to our hotel to change.

Happily Done – Post Run Selfie

The official results unfortunately were not updated to give us our half marathon time, I suspect it was in and around the two hour mark. They did record and leave up my full marathon time, which was picked up from my chip. I suppose it is something I can just aspire to achieve in due course and can be a motivation for the Dublin marathon in October.

The other very fun thing about the Cork marathon was getting to meet my Twitter buddy John. He is the man behind the very inspiring blog From 19st to 10k and he completed the marathon in a very impressive time under four hours. We had many a post run drink together that evening. Overall Cork gets a big thumbs up 👍.

The May bank holiday weekend seen me take a train north to take part in the Belfast City Marathon. There were highs and lows to go with the trip. The highs being the many many hills and the lows being the dodgy toe and poor finish time. Continue reading →

I’ve been running on and off now for about two years. The majority of that time has been spent running on my own, which I’ve been quite happy with. I enjoy listening to music and getting some head space. I have always found that when I take part in a race I tend to run faster than I would on my own. The surge of the crowd going forward tends to propel me along and keep me going. Continue reading →